Morgan Back On The Top Of The Volleyball World

Joe Grippo's Team Earns First State Title Since 2005

The top-seeded Huskies won their 12th Class S title over No. 3 Lyman Memorial, 3-0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-14), on Friday night at Berlin High School. The championship is Morgan's first since 2005, ending its longest span between titles (seven years) in school history.

"It feels like a really long time," Morgan coach Joe Grippo said. "I'm going into the Connecticut Volleyball Hall of Fame [later this month], but this is way more important to me than that. But it is a nice little touch to be going in on a state championship year. It was just an incredible job by my guys."

Grippo's teams won 11 titles in a 15-year span between 1990 and 2005, watching the past seven years as rival Coventry raised the hardware. But Grippo has said from day one that this group was primed for a title run, and led by senior setter and captain Lily Dawson, the Huskies made good on their coach's words.

"It is such a good feeling knowing we haven't won in a while," Dawson said. "My freshman year we didn't win it, and it left an empty feeling that made you want it more and more."

Dawson and her younger sister, Jen, put an exclamation point on the final game of Morgan's (26-0) perfect season and their final match as high school teammates. Lily was spectacular in her passing, dishing out 40 assists, almost all of which accounted for Jen's 25 kills. Jen, a junior, was named the final's most valuable player.

"We've been playing on the same court even dating back to when we were really young," Jen Dawson said. "It is really going to be hard not playing on the court with her next year."

The Huskies dominated the Bulldogs (17-4) from start to finish. The offense was predictable, continuously going to the outside, but Lyman Memorial had no answer for Jen Dawson or junior Katie Anderson (13 kills). Morgan didn't make a single serving error, playing methodically and minimizing mistakes.

"We were on; there was no question we were on [our game]," Grippo said. "We've had a lot of good games with this group; it's just been so steady and so great."

The Bulldogs, who were led by Michelle Valliere with 32 digs, are stocked with underclassmen. But for now, Marty Gomez's squad will use this as a learning experience.

"No shocker, Morgan is Morgan," Gomez said. "We are taking the next step, and we know what we've got to do."